Old Songs
by HecateA
Summary: They had always dreamed of running away together, but now that their plans have had to move forward more quickly than expected, Ted worries about whether Andromeda has everything that she needs. Oneshot.


**Author's Note: **Status update: the _Hadestown _soundtrack is still pulling a number on me. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **Estranged family

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**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts; Not Commonwealth

**Individual Challenge(s): **Slytherin MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Summer Vacation; Seeds; Times Go On; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Escape); Real Family; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!

**Representation(s): **Muggleborn Ted Tonks; Pureblood leaving family

**Bonus challenge(s): **Second Verse (Not a Lamp); Chorus (Machismo)

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **NA

**Word Count: **1359

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_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks (Pure Traitor)

**List (Prompt): **Summer Micro 1 (Running/Jogging)

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_**Hogwarts Submitting Info**_

**House: **Ravenclaw

**Assignment: **Assignment #2, Astronomy #4 Write a fic with Andromeda as the main character

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**Old Songs **

_It's a love song_

_It's a tale of a love from long again_

_It's a sad song_

_We keep singing even so_

_It's an old song_

_It's an old tale from way back when_

_And we're gonna sing it again and again_

—

_We're gonna sing it again_

—_Road to Hell Reprise, _Hadestown

Whenever Ted looked at the house he'd grown up in, he found a new piece of furniture, appliance, object, or texture that would be absolutely unfamiliar to Andromeda. He hated it. He had no idea how to make this Muggle house feel familiar to her or how to make her at home here, short of going through the house object-by-object in a way he knew she'd find tedious and embarrassing.

The piano in the parlour, however, was familiar grounds to Andromeda.

Ted saw her sitting there often, even if she was too shy to actually play. Sometimes he'd come in from helping his mum with something, bringing his younger sisters to the park, or helping his dad on a particularly busy morning in the shop and she'd be sitting there quietly. She'd always smile when she saw him, happy and gracious, but he knew that the house didn't feel like home yet.

It hadn't been _supposed _to be home. They had been banking on more time before they had to break away; time for them to finish Healer training, for him to get them settled in Muggle London somewhere, for her to be in a place where she could leave home without leaving behind everything that she had… but her parents had dropped the news of an arranged marriage over Christmas break. Ted had in response dropped all resolve and blurted out that he'd marry her first, if she'd have him. She did, and he had, and now his parents had taken them in until they could get their affairs in order.

His mother had fallen head-over-heels for this shy girl who she was calling her fifth daughter. His dad was fascinated by the French she spoke so casually, often quizzing her over dinner. His siblings, above anyone else, were absolutely in love with this newcomer who would braid their hair and savour their make-believe food and rule fairly in all the games they played in the yard. Ted was thankful for their kindness, but every now and then he caught glimpses of Andromeda and thought… well, he thought that maybe he had asked too much of her. Maybe this was too much change, maybe she'd left too much behind.

One of the mechanics at the shop had called in sick, so Dad had dragged him out with him that morning to man the phone and do some inventory. Ted had been released after lunch, and he'd walked back home to find Andromeda sitting alone by the piano. The house was empty at the moment—a rare occurrence, but his mum was leading the children's choir down at the church and his sisters were all in it. Andromeda was wearing a long skirt the colour of red wine and a white blouse with sleeves rolled up at the elbow—something he knew would never go over in a pureblood home, much like her bare feet.

She startled when she heard the door open and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, love," he said.

"Hi," she smiled.

"I got tips this morning," he reported. "We can walk down to the chip wagon for lunch."

"That sounds lovely," she smiled.

"How are you?" he asked, coming over to straddle the piano bench and sit by her. He kissed her cheek and she put a hand on his shoulder, which trailed down to his chest. Whenever she did that, he wondered how much of his heartbeat she could feel.

"Good," she said. "I wore out the little ones in the yard, and then helped your mother catalogue all the sheet music for her lessons."

"That sounds like an okay morning," Ted said.

"There are some really cute songs she has for children," Andromeda said. "Things about ducks in the rain and so on."

"Oh yeah," Ted recalled with a smile. "Yeah, it's pretty cute."

Andromeda nodded to herself again, but she looked preoccupied—as if something had sparked a memory. Ted didn't know what to do.

He swung his leg over the piano bench and sat facing it, adjusting his posture and setting his hands over the keys for a second—trying to puzzle out their placement in his head—before he started playing. Andromeda recognized the music and smiled for a second, taking in the piano music that filled the air. Then she turned around to face the keys, waited a few beats, and jumped in with the accompanying melody. Ted smiled and kept playing as best as he could from memory. When he stumbled, Andromeda quickly reached over and finished the song for him.

"You were close," she said with a smile. Her brown curls were falling over her left shoulder today in a generous and ample cascade. She looked quite romantic like this—or maybe Ted just always felt it.

"Not close enough," he smiled back. "First song you taught me—once we realized that there were Muggle composers and Pureblood composers."

"It's an old song," Andromeda said. She turned back to the keyboard then and started playing a piece of _Swan Lake _that he'd always liked, slowed and haunting when it was on the piano alone, removed from the other instruments. He watched her fingers scale up and down the piano as she played and when she was done, he picked her up and sat her on him. Arms reaching out from behind her, he began playing again—something he remembered her saying was an old wedding song—but he finished it by playing a glissando, which always made her laugh. She elbowed his hands away from her keyboard and began playing _Ode to Joy, _the first piece of Muggle music he'd ever taught her to play.

Ted wrapped his arms around her waist before she could launch into the rest of Symphony 9 which, knowing her, she may very well also have memorized. He tucked his chin on her shoulder and breathed in the smell of her, vanilla and almonds and shampoo.

"Are you really?" he asked quietly.

"What?" Andromeda answered, her tone shifting to match his.

"Happy," Ted said finally. His mouth was dry as he said it, afraid of what she'd answer. Andromeda shifted to swing her legs and swivel, to look at him.

"I'm with you," she said simply.

"That's not the same," Ted said, swallowing.

"To me it is," she said, cupping his cheek. "I'm sorry if I'm not showing that."

"Don't be sorry," Ted said. "It's… it's a lot."

"It is," Andromeda said. Her lip quivered. "I'm… It's my parents' anniversary today, I'm missing a… a kind of annual party. And some other things, here and there, which is why I get in my head sometimes. But I always remember, when I get back out, that they just can't make up for the horrible parts that I've left behind too. I just… have to feel them."

"I get it," Ted said. "I get it. I just want to make sure that you have what you need, because sometimes… sometimes, this doesn't feel like what you deserved."

"What is it that you think I deserve?" Andromeda asked, eyebrow arched.

"The world," Ted said. "Whatever you want."

"Well then good," Andromeda said categorically. "I have it. Even in my deepest haze, I know this. And don't you forget it either, Ted Tonks."

Ted nodded. She ran her thumb in small circles.

"Were you really unsure?" Andromeda asked quietly.

"I feel like this relationship has taken a lot from you," Ted said quietly. "More than I have to give back."

"It's given me more than enough to balance out," she said. "Namely you."

She brushed the hair away from his forehead and kissed him there. Ted took a deep breath and smiled before reaching out to the keys and playing another song—a new song, that they could carry with them onwards, maybe. Because that's definitely where they were heading.


End file.
